Fall/Winter photo session

I waited to post these until after Christmas because two of them were presents to the grandparents.  We took them on a really nice day at the park.  Owen was pretty cooperative, much more than the last time we tried this.  I don't think I posted those pics because there wasn't a good one in the bunch.

Of course there were plenty of outtakes, but I thought this one was especially funny...

Stuff Owen says

1.  Tuesday was my first day back at work, and when I came home Owen said, "Daddy, I'm so glad you're here."

2.  "Good tidings we bring, to you and your kin cat."

3.  Owen said, "Thank you mommy, thank you for bringing my big boy bed.  Brig said, "But I didn't bring it, Santa did."  Then Owen says, "But I couldn't tell him thank you b/c I was sleeping when he came."

Christmas 2010

On Christmas Eve we went over to Crystal's house for food and drinks.  I, of course, left the camera at home.  Crystal, if you are reading this, please send me pics!

After we came home, Owen got to open one gift and they were (shockingly!) another fun pair of Christmas pajamas.  We had already made gingerbread men and now it was time to decorate them for Santa.

My dad and I loaded this bad boy onto the back of his truck and into the dining room around 10:00 p.m...

 
and while Brig was making food for the next day I was setting this up...until 2:00 a.m.  These pics are from Christmas morning, before we woke Owen up.  Notice the boxes in the foyer...Santa shops at Amazon too, but I wish he would take the stuff with him when he goes.

Here's Owen seeing his big boy bed for the first time.  I hadn't put the rail on it yet and it would be another two days before it would actually make it into his room.  That's a story for another day!

 Some of his loot and a "real" fishin' pole.

Here's Owen going to sleep in his bed for the first time.  He slept in it with no problems.  The next morning we went in to check on him and he was just sitting there looking around his room.  We changed all the furniture and are picking out a paint color this week.

Nap the next day was a different story.  He kept making noise and I finally went in to check on him.  He was kicking like he was upset.  I asked him if he was ready to get up and we went and sat in the chair.  When he got out of his funk I noticed his socks were gone.  Note this is not an uncommon occurrence, but he said he put them in the hamper.  I asked him if he got out the bed and he said yes.  I asked if he slept or just played.  He said he didn't play, but didn't sleep either, but rather just "walked around".  Who knows...

Accidental blog-cation

Wow...didn't realize it has been so long since I posted anything.  Oops!  We have been go-go-go for the last few weeks, but that came to a screeching halt this past Saturday.

I won't go into all the details, but Owen had a normal cold for over week when he all of a sudden had a really high (105.6 yikes!) fever and vomiting, etc.  Of course it was a Saturday so taking him to Dr. P was out.  I did call the after hours service and the operator informed me it would take 2.5 hours for a nurse to call me back.  Seriously?  We were obviously not going to wait for that call, so off to Nason we went.  We had never been there before, and we will never go there again.  I think we would have had better luck at the ER b/c everybody was at Nason.  We finally got to the back, and the so-called doctor looked at Owen for about 30 seconds and said he had a virus and sent us home.  We had a birthday party that day that we couldn't attend and were supposed to have a family Christmas party at our house the next night that we canceled.  The next few days are still a blur, but suffice it to say we were all exhausted and are just now recuperating.

Sidenote:  Owen refuses to take pain reliever so we have been fighting the fever with nothing but will power.  We did get him to take the chewable stuff a few times, but only when he felt his worst and wasn't himself.

He did get past the vomiting and Monday morning actually seemed better.  We tried to put our Christmas party back on, but couldn't get everyone together.  And boy are we glad that didn't work out.  His fever came back around lunchtime so we called the doctor and went that afternoon.  Dr. P was off so we saw someone else.  Someone that we don't like.  She did confirm our initial suspicion...ear infection.  Since Owen won't take oral meds, the only other choice was injection.  He had this injection back in October and had no problem.  This time was different.  Two nurses came in b/c there were two injections, one in each thigh, and b/c the needles are so large and painful, they must be administered simultaneously.  I had to hold his arms down and he screamed like they were ripping off a limb.  I'm not ashamed to admit I cried for him.  NOT easy to see your kid in that much pain.

We had to wait for 20 minutes to make sure he didn't have a reaction then we came home.  He was sore and would freak out if we got anywhere near the injection sites.  That night was rough to say the least.  He was delirious and talked and moaned most of the night.  We had to return to the doctor the next day and there was a possibility of more injections.  Luckily Dr. P was back and we came up with a plan.  Owen asked me 100 times if he was getting a shot and I was happy I could finally answer him with a "no", not today.  We decided to just watch his ears for a few days, and since his fever had now subsided, we may be past the worst.  In the meantime, he went ahead and gave us a prescription and we have been able to get Owen to drink it...mixed with the strongest strawberry and chocolate milk ever.  Whatever gets the job done.

He is now resting, for the first time in three days, and I'm so glad we might be back on track.  Santa's elves still have to finish several big projects before the big day so I guess I better get back to that.

Shhhh...

Don't tell Owen, but Santa's elves (Uncle Chauncey and I) worked hard today on one of the two things he has requested for Christmas.

What do you get when you add the following together?

Well...I don't know what you get, but this is what we got...

A big boy bed!

I can't believe how well it turned out...especially considering the twin equivalent over here retails for $699.  When the finish is applied and the project is complete, it will have cost less than 1/3 that price.

The rail is adjustable, and can be removed when he's older.

Now we just have to get it over here so I can sand and finish.  I'll post more pics after that.

***

Trimming the tree

I have been painting like crazy, trying to get it done before we put up the tree.  Yesterday, I made Owen a deal.  If he let me finish the kitchen, we would put up the tree.  During nap, Brig and I put up  the tree and fluffed the branches.  To say he was excited to see the tree is an understatement. 

At first, he wanted to hang all the ornaments in one place.  We convinced him otherwise, and he actually let us spread them out a little more.

Thanksgiving Feast

Owen's class had their Thanksgiving Feast on Monday.  He was really excited and talked about it for days.  Since then, he asks us several times a day when we are going to Grandmama's house for the other Thanksgiving Feast.  This morning on my way out of the house we told him it was tomorrow!  Funny thing is he really isn't interested in the "feast" part, just the party aspect.

Stuff Owen says

Tonight Owen was coloring at the table and said, "Daddy, I can't get it".  I said, "Get what?"  He said, "this", showing me a marker in his hand.  The top was still on and he said, "I tried using my muscles, but it's not working.  Can you use your muscles to open it?"

***

Halloween 2010

Ever since we saw Pete's Dragon in the Disney Electrical Parade, Owen has wanted to be one for Halloween.  Here he is "blowing smoke" at us...

 I thought a dragon wouldn't fit on the slide...he proved me wrong.

With his buddies Robin Hood and Anakin Skywalker...

He liked trick-or-treating for about 15 minutes.  He really liked seeing the other kids dressed up and giving away candy at Grandmama's house.

The loot...

Carving pumpkins and making spiders

 Today we headed to our local pumpkin patch to try and find something suitable to carve.

 

 

 Owen really liked this one.  One guess if we took it home...

Then the carving started.  Please remember this was my first attempt! 

Before

During

 After

Not too horrible for my first time.  I intended to put a "2010" on the other side but jacked up the "Owen" so I decided to stop while I was ahead.

Later on Chef Owen helped Brig make cupcakes.  His fave was the spider.

***

Fall Festival

Owen had a Fall Festival at school yesterday.  We wrongly assumed it was the entire school, but it was just his class.  The teacher(s) made each of the kids a pumpkin shirt and painted their faces.  They played fun games outside and brought home a Halloween goody bag.

 

corn maze and ghost walk

Our weekend was jam packed!  Friday night we went out to the West Farm Corn Maze.  First, we went to the petting zoo and fed some goats.  I let Chris handle that while I took pics.

 

They still look hungry...

Then the kids picked out and decorated pumpkins.

We went on the hayride, but it was very bumpy and dark, so the pics are very blurry.  The kids played in the miniature corn maze, but by this time some older kids (who were too big anyway) had destroyed the bales.

Saturday night we went on the Ghost Walk.  Brig and I did this years ago and it has really grown.  Owen did pretty well considering the theme of a few acts.  The next to last act were Civil War soldiers who fired off guns and dynamite.  Owen didn't care for that got really upset even though I told him it was going to be loud and I covered his ears.

 The kids digging for treasure...

Josh was a skeleton, Sam was a bat and Owen was Buzz.  These are not their actual Halloween costumes.